A little bit of my background – I’m Joe Rodonis, a 36-year-old strength coach based in New York City. My career began in finance, but I migrated to health-care sales for 10 years. During my time in sales, I saw the reactive side to health and wellness, and I realized I really wanted to help people by being on the preventative side. In 2018, I moved to New York City and joined a gym called Tone House and worked as a head coach for four years. My training background is focused on strength training and conditioning for athletes. I have now trained thousands of athletes and have trained alongside some of the best athletes in the world.

Build community through activities you love

My first tip if you’re new to training is to start by finding those activities you enjoy doing and not to stress too much early on. Next, it’s great to find a training community or have friends you can share these activities with and help develop a habit. Having a workout partner is a huge boost – it becomes part of your social network and is a two-way street for support and motivation. Then, after you have that friend, group, or community, you can find new challenges within the activity you enjoy doing and take it to a whole new level.

Having a solid group around me is something I take advantage of in my own training. I work out five to six days a week, and my group helps me stay consistent and motivated, especially in my strength training. I also keep my workouts simple and train in the ways I enjoy.

Eat what makes you happy, healthy

Next tip – when it comes to food and nutrition, the main obstacle is that many of us look through the lens of extremes. Many individuals tend to be either dieting and counting macros or eating fast food – there’s nothing in-between. They operate on a pendulum and end up compensating by going on an extreme diet for a short period of time. The best advice I give my clients and others I talk to is to find a way of eating that makes you happy and feel good. You can eat the food you love in a healthy way.

During the week I’m always meal prepping, so I have good, healthy food ready to go. That way, if I crave something, I allow myself to have it, but then I make sure I get back to prioritizing my healthy meals.

This is a key tip – water is something that is very easily overlooked. I drink water constantly throughout the day and you should too. Drinking water can even help curb those food cravings from time to time.

A final tip – an important part of anyone’s nutrition is what to eliminate. It’s not just about what you should be eating and drinking, it’s also what you shouldn’t be. For me, alcohol and fried foods take a back seat – both are extremely limited in my personal diet. Reducing my alcohol intake has made a huge difference in the way I feel, recover, and perform.

Game-changing quality

Through my partnership with Thorne, I’ve been able to continue my education, which has helped my training, performance, and recovery. New data and studies come out all the time, and we know more now than we ever have before. The fact that I can trust the team at Thorne to use quality, scientifically researched, and sustainable ingredients in their nutritional supplements is a real game changer.

After being hesitant about using supplements for a long time, I learned about Thorne’s rigorous quality and testing standards, and have now been using their products for three years. I rely on their Whey Protein Isolate and Creatine monohydrate powder for my training and recovery. My go-to supplement at the moment is their chocolate-flavored whey, which mixes really well into different smoothies! I also love their Basic Nutrients 2/Day for my multi-vitamin/mineral – it’s simple and fills the gaps in those nutrients I’m not getting in my daily diet.

Thorne is thrilled to be partnering with Joe and excited to bring you more health and wellness content. Be sure to check out Joe's personal collection and follow him on Instagram @joerodonis.


Photograph by Anthony Cunanan